James Rucker was ajuniorelectronic media production and leadership in ministry major who went to the Harding University Greece (HUG) program in the spring of 2010, including three weeks of free travel at the conclusion of the semester. Petit Jean staff writer Monique Jacques spoke to Rucker about why he chose to experience free travel in a way that most students did not. M: James, you did not travel in the most traditional way, correct? J: Depending on your definition of what 'traditional' is. In some ways, I would think that hitchhiking is actually really traditional in the sense that it's been done for a long period of time in many other cultures. But in reference to what our culture would say was traditional, yes, I'd say it was quite different. M: So why did you choose hitchhiking for your mode of transportation? J: Here was the bet: to do European free travel under 100 euro. I had a Eurail pass and 100 euro. If I did it, I'd get three nights in Venice, breakfast, lunch and dinner. [Rucker paused and then commented with a small grin,] Ienjoyed the breakfast, the lunch and the dinner. M: So how did you accomplish this besides free transportation? J: I didn't pay for any nights that I stayed anywhere. I slept in the lobby of a hostel that some friends were staying at and on a train for two nights, but neither was [in] a sleeping coach. I slept in a private park a block from the Vatican, at the base of an ancient aqueduct in Rome, in a school park in Berlin and in Prague behind a statue. There were some nights that I did not sleep; I just kept on walking or stayed up journaling. I saw all of the same things the other students did, just in a different light. Another way that I got through [was by packing] up food from the Artemis, including little juice boxes. I mainly ate two large tubs of off-brand Nutella. I would just buy bread because it was really cheap and really good. M: What did you carry with you? J: A camera, a sleeping bag, a poncho which I used as a ground cloth, my black pea-coat, three shirts, two pair of shoes, one pair of pants, a beanie, a scarf and my infamous orange sweatshirt which I hate. I had a notebook, video camera, food from the Artemis and my care packages. M: What perspective did you gain from hitchhiking? J: The spirit of hitchhiking is that it doesn't matter so much what the destination is, it matters what the journey is. Once, I was in Calais and couldn't find a ride over the Channel for a very long time. I met some other hitchhikers from Amsterdam, England and Germany, and at that point I hadn't been thinking about the journey. I was thinking, 'The point of hitchhiking is to get from point A to point Band I need to be at point B right now.' I started talking to them, and they just reminded me [of] the joy of experiencing all of these different cultures. It was one of those neat experiences when you realize, you know, in the end everything is going to be fine. M: Do you get scared whenxou are hitchhiking? J: My thought is that I'm always in God's hands. I've gone probably around 100,000 miles hitchhiking and:-l're still fine and alive. The whole thing is just beautiful. I used to think that~ople were always just a part of my story, but then I realized that no, I'm jusl getting to see a part of their story. M: What else made your travel experiences different from other students'? J: The difference with my experience and the other HUG or HUF students is that [while] they will, every once in a while, go out of their group to have contact with the culture, [my experience] was inverted. I was constantly in contact with the cultures, and every once in a while I'd be reminded of the security orfriends I was used to. Every person and every city has a story, and I wanted to hear those stories. Monlque jacques HUG47
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